2 girls, 3 countries, 8 weeks August 11, 2009

in our short time in asia, i…

saw the grand palace in bangkok, learned to surf, celebrated my 22nd birthday in bali, saw 9 waterfalls, played in most of them, visited 10 cities, 11 hostels, and 5 beaches. ziplined through the mountains, rode an elephant, got a new tattoo (i may have forgotten to mention that one before…), visited the bali terrorist attack memorial, pet a tiger, rode a karaoke bus, watched approximately 78 episodes of law and order, biked to angkor wat, requested Billie Jean in 3 different countries, visited the genocide museum and killing fields, talked to people who had survived the pol pot regime, spent the day with kids who are HIV positive, had drinks with a 66 year old retired millionaire living in cambodia who was kicked out of australia for violating visa regulations, saw the Floating Village, bungee jumped, rode a bamboo raft down a river, saw countless buddhist temples and even more monks, was offered protection of the cambodian prime minister by the only expat in the country who has VIP status, bruised my ribs from falling on the dance floor, ate at the same restaurant angelina jolie did when she was filming Tomb Raider, ate the best chicken cordon bleu in the world and paid only $4 for it, met travellers from Seattle, France, Australia, Slovakia, Germany, England, Philippines,Hong Kong and Canada, crossed the equator, got shocked by a Skype headset, got 3 Thai massages at ten bucks a pop, saw anna get attacked by a monkey, rode in countless tuk tuks, and got to visit the emergency room in bangkok.

my time here may be coming to an end, but the lessons are still be learned, and ill continue to post over the next few weeks as i look back on everything ive gotten to do and see and learn.

bye bye bali July 1, 2009

ive been really slack in keeping my blog updated with everything we’ve been doing. we got so busy once we got back to kuta that i didnt have as much time as i did before. but now im back in bangkok, so i’ll catch you up on the last few days…
sunday afternoon we left sanur beach and went back to kuta- we were so glad to get back. we ate at our favorite restaurant, Nasi Bali, and then headed downtown where everyone was hanging out so we could dance. when we got to the club, it was pretty empty, but all it took was requesting Billie Jean to get everyone on the floor. it was perfecto. we danced for 2 hours straight and it was a blast. we met some travelers from america (seattle), which hardly ever happens (especially in bali- most of the tourists are from australia). they danced with us all night. so much fun.
monday we were pretty exhausted, so we slept alot (after going back to sanur to retrieve two full bags that anna left at the hotel there. im still not entirely sure how she managed to leave that much…she would). we pretty much just hung around the hotel when we got back until it was time for the sunset. we trekked to the beach, put on our headphones, and sang while the sun went down.
tuesdayyyyy was my birthdayyyyy. and it was a full day. we woke up around 8, got breakfast, and then went to the beach, where i rented my board and surfed for the first time in my life. (im hooked now, despite the battle wounds i received from my board). then we ate lunch at our regular spot, and headed out to take pictures around town (the memorial, the streets, the stores). we decided my bday wouldnt be complete without $4 pedicures. and we were right. they were amazing. we made a few more stops around town before going back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. my bday dinner consisted of pizza margherita and lots of coca cola. delicious. then it was back downtown for shopping (bought some ballin silk curtains for my bedroom in my new apartment, and they were only $20!), a birthday daiquiri and a night full of dancing (kicked off again, of course, by Billie Jean).
kuta, bali is officially in my top three favorite places i’ve ever been. it was beautiful, full of beautiful people, beautiful food, beautiful beaches, and so much fun. if i had to be away from everyone on my birthday, it was the only place i would want to be.
we were sad to come back to bangkok, but excited that brandon will get here tomorrow. and excited about all our traveling coming up.
i have so many pictures to post of the last few days, but internet only cooperates at certain times, and now does not seem to be one of those times. so they’re coming soon…

mj, hot tans, and sleeping the day away June 27, 2009

i haven’t updated lately because, honestly, we really havent done that much. we’re in sanur, a beach about 30 minutes east of kuta. its nice, but much quieter and just not as much to do. its a small fishing village and there’s not much of a beach. its still been good time for rest though. i’ve been able to spend lots of time with jesus, lots of time in his word, and lots of time journaling.

i’ve also been able to spend lots of time tanning and lots of time sleeping, which is good because we’re about to begin the more hectic part of our trip (im equally excited about this part, it just wont offer as much downtime as we’ve had thus far)- brandon comes on thursday( ) and will be here for 2 weeks, and then its off to cambodia and vietnam, which will be the most intense part of our trip. i really cant wait though. please be praying that we can find an orphanage in cambodia that would let us come volunteer during our days there. we’re both dead set on doing this.

we woke up yesterday to the most terrible news: michael jackson had passed. after getting over the shock, we celebrated his life by dancing for two hours straight to the mtv-asia tribute to mj. it was pure beauty. rip, mj.

kuta June 23, 2009

mark-o. polo. June 22, 2009

i know im in bali, but the highlight of my week so far has literally been finding out that the governor (SC gov. mark sanford) went missing. i have since learned that he is only taking a break to hike the AT (says WIS). wow. just wow.

our days here have consisted of waking up around 10, being served breakfast in bed, carefully applying suntan lotion, lunch with Somi, weaving through the motorbikes, taxis and shop owners on our trek to the beach, and spending hours in the sun. not too much to write about other than that…i mean its great, but it doesnt make for very interesting reading

last night we went out for the first time. about five minutes down the street from our hostel there are rows and rows of dance clubs.
it was in these same streets that we’re walking that the terrorist attacks were carried out in 2002. its so hard to believe because the town is so energetic and care free now. at the beginning of the street is a memorial dedicated to those killed in the bombing here. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_Bali_bombings). its so weird to travel through these countries (or any country other than america, really), and try to understand what its like to have lived through what they have- wars, bombings, attacks, genocides… not to belittle what happened in america on 9/11, or to ignore the fact that we’re currently in the middle of war ourselves- but unless you know someone in the military or are directly affected by these few events (compared to the frequent instances abroad), its very easy to completely forget about it and live our lives in a comfort that most will never know. we are quite spoiled.

we tried to sleep in today but our hostel is under renovation and the workers woke us up at the freaking crack of dawn with their hammering. so we’re just headed to the beach a little earlier today.

tomorrow we leave for sanur, a beach about 30 minutes north of here. its supposed to be a quieter, less touristy town. we’ll be back here in kuta on sunday to spend our last few days in bali (including my birthday).